5 Highlights Of Consensus 2018 You Should Know

May 19, 2018 2 min read

A lot happened at this year’s Consensus 2018. But for those of you who missed it, here is a quick rundown of the top 5 highlights that you need to know.

What is Consensus ? :

Consensus is a three-day event held annually by the media and research company CoinDesk Inc. This year, it was held from May 14-16 and hosted at the New York Hilton in Midtown NYC. Consensus features talks and exhibitions on everything related to cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and blockchain as a technology.

Top 5 highlights :

Ripple’s Xpring Project

Ripple announced the Xpring project. It is an initiative with a goal of attracting entrepreneurs and expanding the use of XRP. Ripple also hosted its XRP Community Night which had Snoop Dogg performing.

Regulation in Cryptocurrency

No conference is complete without discussing regulation. It was announced that while United States regulators are looking into virtual currencies and ICO’s, there is no plan to suppress the sector. Further, the government representatives that took to the stage at Consensus 2018 stated that there is no plan to hinder innovation in the field which is great news for future investors and industry leaders.

FedEx CEO calls blockchain the next “big disruption”

Fred Smith, chairman and chief executive of the U.S. logistics giant FedEx, said

“Blockchain has the potential to completely revolutionize what’s across the border.”

Logistics is thought to be one of the industries that blockchain tech could be most effective in, with increased efficiency and transparency improving the system from warehousing to delivery, to payment.

Smith has previously signaled his interest in blockchain, with FedEx joining the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) earlier this year.

Bitcoin Speculation

Despite, Bitcoin (BTC) struggling in the markets this week, entrepreneurs and investors are hopeful. Jack Dorsey, Twitter, and Square CEO spoke about Bitcoin on Wednesday at Consensus 2018 in a positive light. The 41-year-old stated that the Internet is “going to have a native currency,” and that instead of waiting for it to happen, we should “help it happen.” When we do have a native currency, however, Dorsey said he doesn’t know if it will end up being BTC, but he has his fingers crossed that it will be.

Smartphone Nokia and HTC venture into Blockchain

Global smartphone giant Nokia teamed up with blockchain data company Streamr. Together, they will allow users of Nokia’s smartphones to buy and sell real-time data streams making use of Ethereum based smart contracts. Buyers and sellers will make use of an ERC-20 token called DATAcoin.

On the other hand, Taiwanese consumer electronics company and Smartphone manufacturer HTC has announced its plans to enter the cryptocurrency ecosystem and blockchain industry by developing a new Android smartphone that will be powered by blockchain technology.

The company has unveiled its plan on launching a phone named HTC Exodus and it is described by the company as the “world’s first native blockchain phone”.

Phil Chen, a co-founder of HTC Vive said,

“The HTC Exodus is the first native blockchain phone dedicated to bringing end consumers the best-decentralized application (DApp) experiences, including a built-in secure hardware enclave, and helping underlying protocols expand their base of dedicated nodes, thus expanding the total blockchain ecosystem.”

Overall there were mixed reactions to the events across all three days. Even though it initiated multiple key conversations and addressed ongoing challenges, experts said the event lacked a “wow” factor.